


Bonds

by myscribblings



Series: Far Travels [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myscribblings/pseuds/myscribblings
Summary: James "Bucky" Barnes finds himself traveling the Multiverse, and in his travels arrives a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Relationships: Bucky & Vaylin
Series: Far Travels [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699093
Kudos: 2





	1. Eleven Words

Sometimes, during the transition, he would dream. Or perhaps hallucinate, it didn’t really make a difference to him. This time, it was of his oldest friend. A time when they weren’t, when he was trying to kill a man who had been like a brother to him.

“Then finish it. Cause I’m with you to the end of the line.”

People talked about Steve’s powers. Most did not understand. Yes, he was strong, yes, he was fast. In combat, he was ingenious, cunning, quick witted. He had that amazing shield. None of those were his real power, the power that allowed him to beat enemies stronger, faster, or smarter than him. His real power, that he had all his life, was that he would never, ever give up.

He hadn’t given up on Bucky, and had nearly died for it.

Barnes opened his eyes on a new world. He wondered what had brought that memory to the surface.

The Tallus was speaking to him, as it usually did. Giving him his orders. Eleven words. Words he knew quite well. It wasn’t the first time the thing was cryptic, but this was ridiculous.

He heard a sound like two slabs of meat being slapped together. “You shouldn’t be here, little man. Now you’re going to pay.”

What, really? He turned and looked at the creature that had spoken, saw it slamming a fist into its palm. He was sure it wasn’t speaking English or any other language he knew or had even heard before. The Tallus must be translating for him. That was new.

It was taller than him and looked like a melting candle. He guessed that was its natural appearance. He thought he’d try to talk his way out of this. He didn’t know the situation. “Uhm, all right, but can you tell me first where I am? Who you are?”

“Huh. You’re getting a beating, anyway, so sure. You’re in Black Sun territory. My territory. I’m Skadge. Any other questions?”

He looked over the troops this Skadge had with him. One of them was pointing some kind of cannon his way. He smiled at them. “That’s a nice looking weapon. Mind if I take a look at it?”

* * *

This was the strangest world yet. For one thing, it wasn’t Earth. All the others had been since he’d been unstuck from his home. He was pretty sure that several of the people he fought weren’t human. He could be wrong, human didn’t always mean what he thought it did, but something told him they were alien. Humanoid, but not from his world. Still, hit them hard enough, fast enough, and they eventually stopped trying to kill him.

Plus, the tech. They were all carrying weapons that fired short bursts of energy. The tablets didn’t seem so strange, not these days, but were jammed with a lot more intel and were easier to use than anything he’d seen. He sat at the table reading up on the galaxy his latest trip had landed him in. He was interrupted once by a group of the gang members that saw the carnage and backed out of the room. Later, by a larger group. They backed off when he pointed the blaster cannon at them.

Well, maybe some shots were fired. He liked this thing.

The third interruption was just two men, one that looked entirely human, the other he found was called a Chagrian. They seemed interested in talking first, so he let them. Tallus didn’t complain, so at least it wasn’t off mission.

The Chagrain spoke first, looking at the bodies strewn everywhere, mostly unconscious. They had put up too much of a fight to take them all alive, though. “You do good work.”

“I get by.”

“Rusk.”

“What?”

“My name. You?”

Couldn’t hurt, really. “Barnes.”

Rusk turned to the human. “Well, Commander, looks like we’ve been freed up. I’ll have my people report for duty soon.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Rusk left the room, leaving the two of them alone to talk.

“Commander?”

“Richerd. Richerd Pauers. They just call me Commander.”

Barnes felt something off about this man. There was no reason for it, but he would be watching. “What brings you here?”

“Rusk is here to bring down this gang, I was here to recruit Rusk.”

“Recruit for what?”

“The Alliance.”

They looked at each other for a few moments. Richerd seemed to think he should know what that was.

“I’ve been out of touch.”

“Really? Well, it is a big galaxy, anything is possible. The Alliance to bring down a tyrant and conqueror, Emperor Arcann. We can always use more help.”

“What, just like that?”

“You brought down a cell of the Black Sun. It speaks well for your ability and conscience. And we need all the help we can get.”

Really, he didn’t have anything better to do until he understood his mission. It sounded like a good cause, and really, if it wasn’t, he needed to find that out, too.

“All right, where do I sign up?”

* * *

Over the subsequent months, the former Winter Soldier learned a great deal about this galaxy. Trillions of people, thousands of intelligent species. At least four religious orders, each with its own set of powers, all coming from a single source, what Richerd called the Force. He, himself, was one of these Jedi. Barnes had seen him heal the wounded. It was remarkable. It was a tragedy that he was in charge of a machine of war, no matter how much that war needed to be waged. Maybe that’s what he had felt when they first met, that this man should be filling another role, that he didn’t really fit what was being asked of him. He hoped that was all it was.

The war went as well as wars ever do. Arcann had been deposed, though the destruction he and the fleet had caused was horrific. The Alliance was struggling to make sure the worlds Zakuul had harmed received the help they needed, but at the same time had to deal with his much wilder and less predictable sister. She was much more willing to go into the field than he had been, wanted to cause hardship with her own hands. This was her main tactical blind spot. It meant that not only was she putting herself at more risk, her activities were more easily contained. Where he might send his troops to bomb five worlds, she wanted to be there, to see the defenses crumble, the people scream. She was terrible, but slightly easier to cope with.

That is, until the Commander, the Gravestone, the Empress, and SCORPIO disappeared for a time. Whey they came back, something had changed. Vaylin was more vicious than ever, and the Eternal Fleet more strictly under her control. Barnes was not told why, but it had been decided it had to be stopped, and a window had opened to allow it. A small team was being sent to deal with her once and for all. He had been sent to infiltrate Zakuul, since he was unknown to most of the world, and lend firepower when it was needed. Back into the shadows he went, along with the Spewmaster.

He hadn’t given the blaster cannon the name, but it had stuck.

Richerd stepped into the hall and began to speak to Empress Vaylin. As he did, the Tallus began speaking as well, after months of silence, repeating the only words Barnes had heard from it since reaching this strange universe. Words he knew very well. Eleven words. And, with some horror, he began to understand why.

Everything was happening too fast, and the words were blending together.

“Do your people…”

Longing. Rusted. Seventeen.  
“Know about…”

Dawn. Stove. Nine.

“Your weakness?”

Kind-hearted.

No. This couldn’t be right. The Commander was the hero here.

Homecoming.

Wasn’t he? She was a monster. Barnes had seen what she was capable of.

One.

Time seemed to slow. Vaylin had lifted a hand, was dragging the heavy decorations down to throw at the Commander.

“Kneel…”

Freight car.

“Before…”

Everything froze, including his blood. Then, he made his decision and time snapped into motion again.

“The Dragon…”

He knew what it was to be a monster, too.

A metal fist slammed Richerd in the gut, knocking the breath out of him, preventing him from finishing what he was saying. Shan shouted and drew his weapons, opening fire, but Barnes deflected the bolts of energy. A moment later, the spy was knocked to the ground by the thrown body of his commander. Barnes snapped one of Shan’s blasters out of the air and fired up at Vaylin, forcing her to defend herself rather than finish pulling death down from the ceiling.

Anything but put her through that, to put anyone through that. Even her.  
He prepared to pursue the Empress. She still had to be stopped. Suddenly, an apparition appeared in front of him, an imposing, menacing creature. He recognized him from the holos: Valkorion. This time, he was pretty sure that sensation of time slowing was real.

“You’ve only delayed the inevitable. Stop interfering and let Richerd do what needs to be done.”

Barnes pointed the stolen blaster at the thing, knowing it wouldn’t do any good but still game to try. “How are you here?”

The spirit, or whatever it was, chuckled. It made his skin crawl. “Oh, they never told you, did they? I am inside his mind.”

Finally, those misgivings about Richerd all made sense.

“That’s quite enough, ‘Father’!”

A blast of lightning from the balcony broke open the floor where Valkorion had been standing. He just smiled blandly at this and faded away. Barnes barely had time to snatch up his bag before he was dragged upward by the Empress.

Well, that couldn’t be good. At least the Tallus was finally quiet. He knew his mission wasn’t over, though, since he was still here.

He pulled the blaster cannon from the bag and opened fire on the balcony. Vaylin backed away, shouting, “Do you want me to drop you?”

He continued to fire, aiming mainly at the one holding the control that would drop the rebels into the pit. “I’ll live! Will you?”

The control fell from a limp hand. This was war, after all. He could see the Commander and Shan helping the rebels. There was too much commotion to use the trigger phrase. He could only hope that had been the right choice. He knew it was, though, even without the Tallus’ prompting.

Vaylin yanked him to her roughly, and looked surprised when he rolled to his feet and pointed the cannon at her face. She smiled. “I haven’t seen you before. But you’re not another of Father’s puppets, are you?”

They really were, weren’t they? He’d seen the records of the higher ups in the Alliance, the parts that were not classified. All of them, even Beniko, who was not above terrible things if she deemed them necessary, seemed off. That Valkorion was influencing them, sometimes subtly, at other times less so, made sense. “No, but this still has to end.”

Her grin grew more vicious. “And what makes you think you can stop me?” He heard buzzing sounds of those laser weapons being activated. She gestured at the chaos down below, and he heard them back away. The others could handle themselves, he hoped, even while not being sure of whose side he was on. “I don’t need them.”

She drew her lightsaber. He fired, to no effect. She lunged and cut down, he let the blaster drop for a moment and deflected the slash with his mechanical arm. She looked surprised by that, maybe angry that she couldn’t simply slice it off. “Cortosis?”

He had no idea what that was, but replied, “Vibranium.” He was so glad they’d upgraded his arm before the battle began.

“Fine.” She stepped back and was about to attempt to blast him with lightning when the windows up above shattered. Ship weapons were smashing the hall. She scowled but backed away through the open heavy blast doors while he chased after.

The running fight between Bucky and Vaylin had been a draw. She couldn’t just break him like she had so many others, he was better in close combat than she was, and he never gave her time to focus on lightning or telekinesis. He, on the other hand, was spending too much of his time keeping her from using her full power to end the fight. They were both exhausted when Arcann arrived.

Exhaustion didn’t stop her from shouting at him, “Did you know the sickness Father put in me?”

“Sister, he made us both weapons.”

Barnes stood up straighter and backed away slightly, but thought he shouldn’t let that stand. “Oh, you have a trigger phrase, too?”

They both looked at him. Arcann asked, “What?”

“A trigger phrase that lets someone else take control of you?”

“No…”

“Then it’s not really the same, is it, you asshole?”

He looked shocked, maybe a little confused by whatever “asshole” translated to. But before he could answer, Vaylin said, “Ten years tortured in a cage to do this to me, and you think we’re the same? Really, Brother?” By the end, she actually sounded more sad than angry. Still angry, though.

He sighed. “Perhaps not. But it doesn’t matter. You still need to be stopped. As I needed to be.”

She glanced over his shoulder. “Not until I’m free. And it looks like Father wants to speak to you.”

Tired as she still was, she threw one of those hoverbikes at her brother and chased it over the edge. Bucky ran to the edge and looked over just in time to see her riding the vehicle up towards him. As she threw a sneer over her shoulder at her brother and the others, he jumped just as she accelerated. He barely caught hold of the bike and lost the Spewmaster in the effort. He was going to miss that gun.

She glanced down at him and just shrugged as they flew off.

* * *

Vaylin landed the bike, and said to the guards that rushed to her side, “Guard him, but don’t hurt him. If you can’t do that, I’ll replace you.”

They did not want to be replaced. They knew what it meant. “Yes, Empress Vaylin.”

“What, no fighting for my life? No attempt to execute me?” Barnes said.

She looked up at him. “No, not yet. You stopped him. You’re my enemy. You want to take the Throne from me, but you drew a line. I want to know why.”

“Because I know what it is.”

She stared at him for several seconds, then just said, “Bring him.”

He decided to go peacefully. He was sure he couldn’t defeat so many, especially with her there. He was hoping for a better solution, anyway.

They reached the bridge of the ship and watched as Arcann knelt to Richerd. They both claimed that Valkorion was not in control. Bucky was almost certain that was not true. He looked at the Empress, standing with her fists clenched at her sides, and wondered how much she was under his control, too.

* * *

They were watching as Arcann knelt to Richerd, when, in a rage, Vaylin destroyed the viewer and shouted, “Bombard them!”

Before any of her people could act or object, Bucky said, “Why?”

She spun and glared at him. “My brother has betrayed me! Again! My father is there! They have to die!”

“Did he, though? Betray you?”

“He protected Mother! He’s kneeling to Father! How dare you ask that?”

He hadn’t heard anything about Senya or what exactly had happened. Only that she was incapacitated and still being treated. He tried to be gentle. “He wanted to capture you alive. He wanted to stop you, but also help you. Your mother did, too, she sang about her regret.”

“What use is regret? She was too late!”

“Yes. But they tried. Why, do you think?” When she just stared at him, practically shaking with rage, he asked, “What would your father do?”

“He… he’d destroy it all. It can be rebuilt, and his enemies would be dead. No anger. No mercy, either. He wouldn’t care.” Her eyes were filled with tears. “He’d pretend he did, he’d pretend to be their protector, but no one was really safe from him. Not his people, not his family.”

“And do you want to be him?”

She finally turned away. “Fine. Let them go, it’s not worth it. We’ll find a way to eradicate Father later.”

Just her father, he thought to himself.

She had him brought to a room. Not a cell, though he was under heavy guard. He was so glad to have impressed her. She left to give orders, and he felt the lurch as the ship jumped to light speed. It was still so strange to him how casually the people here treated that. She joined him with several of her personal guard and a rather ostentatious but well-cushioned chair they brought for her. They sat across from one another.

“Since you seem interested, we are traveling to Nathema, where I was imprisoned and controlled. I am going to be freed of what they did to me.”

“Good. That’s good. How are they going to do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just seen the cost.”

“Cost?”

“The ones that were sacrificed to help me be free.”

He sighed. He felt for her, but he still knew what she was. Of course she put herself above these others. But was that her choice, or the result of what was done to her? “Who is helping you? You said this was where they hurt you. Are these the same people?”

That made her hesitate. “Yes, Jarak and his team.”

“And they worked for your father?”

“They worked for the Eternal Empire. They work for me, now.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am the Empress! They have to do what I say.”

“Yes, but will they ever do what you need?”

“Fine, what would you do?”

“Me? I would go in, find any information on what was done to you, find any research on how it might be reversed. Free any living prisoners. Then I would decide if it was worth it. How many died for it?”

“What? A hundred, a little more?”

“It wasn’t worth it, you know. I’ve seen this kind of ‘research’. It’s never worth it.”

“I need to be free. I need him destroyed, and can’t do it if I’m not free.”

“And?”

“It’s what he did. What he would do again.”

“You should have asked for help from people who cared about what happened to you, not from the ones that did this to you. Now, things are worse.”

Another pause. Then, she stood, and said, “Get this man a blaster cannon. He’ll be coming along. We are going to get what I need and then the Sanatorium will burn.”

Well, it was a start. And he would never give up. He’d learned that much.


	2. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having captured Jarak and other members of his team, Bucky has convinced Vaylin to let him handle the interrogations when her flagship comes under attack.

She didn’t trust him. She couldn’t. She could feel his pity, and it infuriated her, and it would fail. Her family had felt the same, and then walked away.

Was that right? Hadn’t her mother come?

No. Her mother hated her. Everyone hated her. It had been just another trick, just another way to break her. Her senses were dulled by the dead world. It stopped her from sensing Senya’s true feelings, made it easier to fool her. Well, it hadn’t worked. She knew better. She had been the one to walk away that time. Ultimately, she had won everything. They wouldn’t take it from her, whatever their feelings.

This one, though, was different. She was sure of it. He saw himself in her. It was the one thing her enemies had never learned to fake. Sometimes, they pretended to care, maybe even forced themselves to believe the lies, but they didn’t understand. He did.

It didn’t matter. He would betray her like everyone else. Understanding would not matter. Ultimately, they had too much in common, deep inside, and she knew she would turn on him first. But not yet. For now, let him try to break Jarak, as he said he could.

She looked out at the stars and smiled. No, not yet.

* * *

He sat looking at yet another monster. This one had taunted the Empress, though perhaps he didn’t see it that way, telling her she needed to be in more control of her emotions. Like her father. That had almost lost this creature his head.

Jarak was speaking. Barnes had heard that obsequious tone before, too many times. Monsters and those who followed monsters, trying to justify their actions when finally brought to justice. And, sometimes, sickeningly, it worked.

“I wanted to thank you for stopping the Empress. If you hadn’t intervened, I’m sure she would have killed me.”

Yes, that was probably true. Barnes still wondered if he should have let her. Jarak certainly deserved it for his crimes. But, if she had killed him, he was sure she wouldn’t have stopped.

“She cannot be saved. You understand. We could have freed her from her programming, yes, but she would still be nothing more than a beast. We saw to that, and she was never much more to begin with. Nothing can reverse what she has become.”

Finally, he looked into Jarak’s eyes. There was a crinkling around them. Was he smiling under his mask? Barnes continued the silence.

“You seem angry. You do understand, yes? We did what we had to do. She needed to be contained. She would have destroyed everything the Emperor had created.”

No matter what universe he was in, it was always the same. The same actions, the same arguments. The same belief in a greater good that didn’t really exist, that was just an excuse for sadists like this one.

“He gave the command! What could we do but obey? He is our Emperor!”

Is. So, Jarak knew.

“Talk to me, blast you!” Barnes stood and stepped forward, and Jarak fell to his knees. “Please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It wasn’t my fault! It wasn’t!”

Barnes bent and lifted the grovelling creature, pushing him down into the chair. “I have questions. I think you have some of the answers I need. So, yes, we are going to talk.” He leaned down and stared into Jarak’s eyes again. “I will know if you are lying. And each time you do…”

“Yes. I understand.”

Bucky smiled. The existence of the Force made it so easy to convince people that he could sense their lies.

* * *

A figure slipped into Richerd’s room. It had become clear he could not be trusted. He regularly spouted Valkorion’s words. After Nathema, and what they had seen there, something would have to be done.

* * *

Eventually, Vaylin summoned him and they let him out of Jarak’s cell. Still under heavy guard, of course. He was a captured enemy.

Vaylin had pulled her forces back to into deep space after Nathema. She couldn’t bring herself to take the fight to the Alliance. He had glimpsed her face as she gave the order. So much fear, fear of being trapped again by her father. She was a monster, and her terror still made him ill.

She turned to face him in her command center. “Well? I grow impatient, Barnes.”

“He has told me everything he knows. The device that might free you also might kill you, or leave your mind destroyed.” More destroyed, anyway. “Like it has the other victims. Your strength might save you. He was hinging everything on that. It might not. He doesn’t know. You killed them for nothing.”

“I killed them to be free!”

Well, so far honesty hadn’t gotten him killed. Might as well push his luck a bit more. “And are you?”

“No! Because you stopped me!”

“You’d risk that? Did you watch the videos?”

“It would have been worth it! Even if it failed, I’d still be free!”

He winced at that, how she casually accepted death as freedom. He wondered if it was the real reason she feared so little. “I told you before. Nothing was worth that.”

Finally, she fell back and slumped in her chair. She waved at her guards. “Take him to his room.”

One of the Horizon Guards responded, “Empress?’

“Get him out of my sight! I need to think!”

They bowed and escorted him out of the throne room. On the way to his quarters, he turned to one of them and said, “Well, that went as well as I expected.” The guard remained silent.

* * *

Bucky was lying on his back on the floor. He had convinced Vaylin that he could extract information from Jarak, more easily than she could, and it had been true. He understood the kind of thing the scientist was more than anyone in the Eternal Empire aside from Valkorion himself. He had done this not to save Jarak pain, but because there were things he needed to know, things he didn’t want her to hear.

Unfortunately, there was still something missing. Why was he here at all? The Tallus didn’t care about individuals, it protected populations, worlds. Here, it had encouraged him to protect Vaylin, herself a mass murderer. He couldn’t help but sympathize with what she’d been through, but that didn’t really explain anything.

Jarak had admitted to knowing Valkorion still existed, a revelation Barnes had kept to himself. He believed that freeing Vaylin from the phrase would help the Emperor somehow. It was clear that she was the key.

If he hadn’t prevented Richerd from carrying out his plan at Vaylin’s party, she would likely have died. Richerd had as much as admitted it to Arcann, on camera for everyone to see. Jarak was fairly sure that she would have survived his process, but also that it would have driven her further into madness. She would have either killed Richerd and destroyed the Alliance, or they would have been forced to kill her.

Her destroying the Alliance fit Valkorion’s needs. He would be free to take his powerful daughter’s body, with her mind still weakened from the ritual. He would once again have the Throne, as well.

If she lost, the Throne would be empty. Could Valkorion push Richerd to take it? That had to be the end game, but it seemed too risky. His manipulations hadn’t been subtle, but they still seemed to be nudges rather than taking full control. There had to be more to it than that. There needed to be some way to force the issue.

What would an empty Throne mean?

He realized he needed to ask one of the GEMINIs just as the alarm sounded. They were under attack.

The guards had left him locked in his room. Unarmed, they didn’t think he could get out. They didn’t realize that Spewmaster II wasn’t his most powerful weapon.

Unarmed. He had to smile.

The door flew across the hallway and crashed to the floor. He followed close behind and looked up and down the hall, then set off for where the ship’s GEMINI captain was housed.

He needed to know, and quickly, whom he should side with. Hopefully, the droid would give him that information.

The flagship was in chaos, and he’d been seen, armed, in the Empress’ company. None of the crew interfered. Unfortunately, he was stopped by another.

“Arcann.”

“Barnes.”

Nothing could just be easy, could it?

* * *

Jarak paced in his cell. He knew there was a battle, worried each time he heard explosions or blaster fire that the fighting was getting closer. Surely, the Alliance wouldn’t kill a prisoner. He tried to comfort himself with that thought.

Then, the cell doors blasted inward. A figure walked in from the hall beyond. He started forward, preparing to beg for his life.

There was no point.

“You.”

The last thing he saw was her face in the brilliant blue light. His last thought was just how much she looked like her daughter.

* * *

Arcann drew and ignited his lightsaber and slashed at Barnes, who parried the blow with his vibranium laced arm, only to have Arcann’s metal fist smash into his face. Not as strong as his own, but he still spit blood and staggered back.

“Why would you side with my sister? Don’t you realize she’s beyond hope?”

Barnes put up his hands. “No. No, I don’t. And I don’t think you do.”

“She’s broken. Father destroyed her mind. We have no choice.”

Arcann slashed at him again, but this time he caught his hand rather than the beam and squeezed. He heard bones crack, and the energy blade flickered out as the hilt shattered. He had to admit he was impressed when Arcann barely flinched. The former Emperor broke free and slammed his metal arm downward, sending out a shockwave that flung Barnes across the room, but he was able to roll in mid-flight and landed on his feet. The fight continued, each trying to pummel the other, bloodying both. Sometimes, there would be a clang as their metal arms clashed against one another.

Just as Barnes had planned. Finally, there was a gentle chiming only he could hear. He smiled and said, “My turn.”

The released kinetic energy of his own blows hammered Arcann, slamming him into the wall. He slumped to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Richerd had reached the bridge. His forces, his friends, had split off from him as they progressed, first Koth and Lana remaining on the Gravestone. Theron had accessed the flagship’s systems to help clear the way. Vette and Torian held off the reinforcements. Senya had left them behind when it was found there were prisoners on board. He was glad for that, she shouldn’t have to see her own daughter die.

He shook his head. She did have to die, didn’t she? Of course she did. She was broken. He could see that.

Finally, the bridge. It would be over soon. He would fight her alone, as he had her brother. But then, this time it wouldn’t be a fight, would it? Her own weakness would see to that.

* * *

Barnes finally reached the GEMINI captain after a stop at the medical bay. Luckily, the droid there was very helpful. “GEMINI-386, are you able to respond to questions?”

The droid’s eyes glowed. “This unit is well within operational limits, and can answer questions you are cleared for. Identification?”

He bent down to his groggy prisoner, whispering in his ear. “Arcann? Arcann, who are you?”

He called it the medical bay, but it was also where interrogations were conducted, except the ones the Empress conducted herself. They had drugs appropriate to the task. The droid had also treated his broken hand.

Arcann answered, groggily, “Prince Arcann?”

Now was the most dangerous part. How distracted was the droid? Pretty distracted, as it turned out. “Identity recognized. Your question?”

Again, he whispered to Arcann, who repeated what he said, though he slurred the words. “What would happen if the Empress died?”

The eyes glowed again, and there was a pause. The question appeared to need some searching to answer. Finally, it said, “In our current state, we would revert to our prime function.”

This time, Bucky asked directly. “And what is that?”

“Exterminate all life.”

He glared at the Tallus on his wrist and muttered, “You could have just said, ‘kill Vaylin, kill all life’. Blasted thing.”

The droid sounded confused. “Please repeat the question.”

“Never mind.” That would force Richerd to take the throne, and he was sure Valkorion had some plan in place after that. And what were a few million lives lost in the meantime? He pulled out the stimulant the medical droid had given him, and injected it into the Prince, who shuddered into full awareness. “Did you hear?”

Arcann sat up, shaking his head to clear it. “Yes. The Outlander must have reached her by now. We have to stop him!”


	3. An End and a Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky now fully understands his mission, and he and Arcann attempt to prevent a tragedy. Then, finally, a new direction is chosen for himself and the Empress.

He was here. She could feel it. The Outlander. Her father. Her tormentor. All the same. Here to destroy her.

There was nowhere left to run, and she was tired of it, anyway. Tired of the fear. The doors opened behind her. “Hello, Father.”

“I am not your father.”

“Oh, Outlander, don’t pretend you are in control here. Your Bucky told me everything.”

“He’s a traitor, you shouldn’t trust him.”

She finally turned to look at him, began wandering around the bridge. “And you are a fool and shouldn’t trust yourself. What do you think Valkorion was? Just another legend that was hollowed out and worn by my true father.” She paused. “Just as I would have been. Just as you are becoming.”

“Still, your reign ends now.”

She looked out at the stars. “That may be for the best.” She reached out and touched the window. “But you won’t be the one to take the Throne after me.”

Richerd began, “Kneel before…”

Before he could finish, Vaylin had slashed through the transparency, blasting the air into space, preventing him from finishing the command.

* * *

Barnes and Arcann met Senya as they ran. Arcann asked, “Mother, are you well? You seem…”

“I’m fine. The prisoners are free. All but one. Let us end this.”

Bucky wanted to know what she meant, but there wasn’t time to ask about it further. She seemed satisfied. They ran to the bridge.

The doors were sealed, and there was a warning light. There had been a hull breach. There was a moment of hesitation, but if Vaylin had died, the ship would have altered course by now. They looked at each other, and Arcann acted first, activating his comm unit. “Koth, are you there?”

“I”m a little busy, your Highness!”

“There’s been a hull breach on the bridge. We think Richerd is in there. Can you do anything?”

Silence for a moment, then, “All right, I see it, give me three minutes.”

* * *

Richerd was barely able to resist the rushing winds, but had somehow formed a bubble of air around himself. Vaylin had gotten away from the breach and done the same. She was so strong, but how was Richerd doing this? Powerful as he was, this should be beyond him.

Valkorion. It was Valkorion. He didn’t even need to wait for permission to act anymore. Richerd had accepted his power too many times.

This fight still needed to end. His voice couldn’t reach her like this, but she was weakening. He could sense it. She was still only human, while he was so much more. He walked forward, each step an effort, but she was trapped where she was, straining. Still, she drew her lightsaber and prepared herself. She lunged forward, attempting to impale him before he could speak, but he easily deflected the attack.

Now was the time. “Kneel before the Dragon…”

She smiled at him. He only realized that his guard was out of place when he felt her knuckles punching into his throat.

Before he could recover or she could finish him, the winds stopped, and they were both flung against the wall by their own power.

* * *

“All right, Lana got the breach sealed,” Koth was reporting.

Barnes hit the control and the doors slid open. Atmosphere hadn’t been fully restored, but it was enough. They looked around. The fight was about to resume when Arcann and Senya tackled the Commander to the ground.

Vaylin was panting, but seemed uninjured. “What is this?” she screeched at Barnes.

“A rescue?”

She sneered at that. “I don’t need their help! I don’t want their help!”

“But you have it, Sister.” Arcann had clamped his hand over the Outlander’s mouth.

“We are ending this now, Valkorion,” Senya said, reaching for her belt.

Richerd was able to free one hand and place it on Arcann’s wrist, sending lightning arcing over it. He groaned and collapsed. Richerd stood, shouting, “Enough!” It wasn’t his voice. He blasted Senya away from him, slamming her into the bulkhead. She joined Arcann on the floor. “It does end now!”

While this was happening, Barnes had recovered the Spewmaster II. Vette, if she was still alive, would be so pleased. Well, assuming he lived long enough to tell her. He opened fire, maybe he could bring Richerd down before he recovered his sword. Hopefully alive, but it just wasn’t the time to worry about it.

It did no good. Valkorion was in full control now, and had put up a barrier that the blaster bolts glanced off of. At least the monster’s attention was fully on him.

Vaylin was paralyzed. It would be so easy to finish her mother. Revenge for leaving her to be tortured. Revenge for the hate she was sure Senya had for her only daughter.

Barnes was shouting at her. “Empress! A little help!”

She sighed. She still didn’t trust him, but, first things first.

She lifted her hands, allowing her power to build. She reached her threshold, the limits he had placed on her, but it wouldn’t be enough. She pushed beyond it, trying to reach the power that would allow her to fight. Still not enough. She felt her body contort, her fingers curl, and finally, barely containing a scream, she was ready.

Valkorion turned to her, shouting, “Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul!”

It had only been seconds, but it had been wasted. She collapsed to her knees, the power exploding from her with a terrible scream.

Bucky got to his feet first. Vaylin looked spent, but still conscious. Richerd was tattered, his barrier collapsed. Senya and Arcann still weren’t moving, and he wondered if they ever would again. He swung the blaster cannon around and pulled the trigger.

Nothing. The lightning had burned it out. He discarded it and charged, catching Richerd in the chest, pushing him back. He almost missed that his foe had recovered his lightsaber, and barely caught Richerd by the wrist.

“Commander! Listen! You can’t do this! I know you don’t want to!”

“You have no idea of what I want!”

“If you kill her, millions die!”

“What?” His eyes flickered to Vaylin, then back to Bucky.

“If she dies, the Fleet goes berserk.”

Richerd regained control. He looked down at his weapon, and tossed it aside, his eyes full of tears. “What have I done? What was I going to do?” Bucky was about to say something, when the voice changed again. “What you were destined for. You are going to take the Throne.”

Oh, great.

Before either of them could act, Vaylin’s voice broke in. “No, ‘Father’. The Throne will never be yours again.”

Richerd’s body was engulfed in light, and two voices began to scream. Slowly, painfully, Valkorion’s form materialized, being pulled like taffy from his host. Richerd’s mouth began to move, to say the words again, only to find his mouth covered by another metal hand.

Vaylin was shouting over the tempest. “Oh, let him be! Let us see what happens!” Bucky hesitated. “Trust me!” She was grinning up at him.

He took another moment, shrugged, and let the man go. Immediately, he used the phrase, and Vaylin laughed at him.

“Ha! I was right! Free! I’m free of you, ‘Father’! I freed myself! I’m free! But you won’t be!”

Valkorion wailed, and, finally, Richerd collapsed to the ground. 

Vaylin stood over him, looking down at a small box.

Vitiate, Valkorion, greatest threat the galaxy had ever seen, would now suffer the fate of his father. Not that anyone in the room knew this.

“What is…”

“A gift from Mother. She was about to use it when he broke free.”

“How did you know?”

“Oh, it told me?”

Of course the magic box came with instructions he couldn’t read. “Shouldn’t we…”

Vaylin looked down at her remaining family. They both seemed to be breathing. She sneered. “Finish them off? No?”

“No.”

“I suppose not.” She stepped up and dropped the cube in his hand. “You take care of them.” She turned to the console. “Remaining ships of the Eternal Fleet. We surrender. All forces stand down.” She collapsed into the remains of one of the chairs. “Go. I need to rest.”

The fight was over. The threat seemed averted. The Tallus still made no move to whisk him to the next universe. Fine, then. “You’re just going to let me wander around your ship?”

“What? Why wouldn’t I?”

“No reason.”

* * *

It seemed Senya had seen Jarak’s videos. Her rage, knowing exactly what had been done to her daughter, cleared her mind, broke Valkorion’s influence. When she saw how the others had simply accepted it, she chose to act. She had wanted her son at her side, but he was never alone, never unguarded until the battle. She had stolen the holocron, which Richerd had left behind, and hoped for the best.

The toll had been heavy on both sides. Hundreds dead. Half the Eternal Fleet destroyed. The war, however, was over. Vaylin had ordered the Fleet to power down until something more permanent could be done. It was suggested that she could simply have it destroy itself, but she refused.

Bucky suspected she wouldn’t because she thought he would disapprove. Not perfect, but he would take it.

He didn’t know who had lived. Richerd was there, greatly weakened, not so confident as he had been. Probably just as well. Vette, who had smiled and accepted the ruined Spewmaster II as a gift, didn’t seem to hold a grudge. Senya was there, and had told him Arcann was too injured to attend and was under guard. Koth was there, carefully watching Vaylin, probably responsible for some countermeasure if she got out of control, beyond the obvious.

She was there, remarkably calm considering the shock collar and the manacles. They were taking no chances. Occasionally, she seemed amused.

Bucky sat next to her, though unchained. He was still thought to be a traitor to the Alliance. That was fair.

Richerd began. “What should we do with you?”

“We have an airlock,” Koth replied.

“Yes, Outlander, we know how effective vacuum is, don’t we?” Vaylin put in.

“I’m sure we could make it work.”

Senya finally spoke. “What is it you want, Vaylin?”

“Me?” She feigned shock. “What do I want? What have I always wanted? I want to be free.”

“How can we justify that?” Richerd asked.

“I helped trap Father. I don’t care about my mother or brother any more. I will give you the Fleet.”

“You are still dangerous.”

“Oh, more than you know. But I don’t want power. I wanted revenge, and I got it. I wanted to break the cage my family put me in, and I have.”

“And you don’t want revenge on them?”

Vaylin finally hesitated and looked away. “No.”

“Why not?”

“They came in time.”

Half a minute of silence, which Koth broke. “You can’t be considering this! You think it’s compassion, but you can’t just let her loose!”

“He’s right. You’ve been destructive, unstable. How do we know that this isn’t an act? Or that you won’t fall again?”

She let out a long laugh at that. “Who are you, of all people to ask me that?”

“I, well. No. You’re right, I can’t judge you. I had that thing in my head for six years, you had him ruining you all your life.”

“Daughter, what would you have us do?”

“Just let me go. I will never bother you again.”

The Tallus finally took that moment to talk to Bucky. His task was done, he should get ready to leave. He held it up. “It looks like I’m finished here. I’m sorry I can’t stay, but there’s a lot to do.”

“You’re leaving? How?” Vaylin asked.

“Teleportation? I’m not from here, I told you some of it.”

“Well, then, that solves everything! You can take me with you. I have nothing here. I can never forgive my family. The Alliance is going to try to lock me away.”

Senya flinched. “But, Daughter…”

Koth spoke at the same time. “Try?”

“Wherever you go next, it has to be better.”

“It doesn’t work like that. It picks up people who have died.”

“And I would have.”

“You may not have your powers.”

“They’re nothing but pain! I can do without them.”

“Look, I don’t know what he’s talking about, but you’re not going anywhere.”

“Koth? It’s Koth, right? You are very good. But this was never a contest that you were going to win.”

A short burst of lightning, and the shackles fell to the floor.

“All right, I’ll try. Take my hand.”

“Say goodbye to Brother for me!”

Nothing. Was it rejecting her?

“I’m sorry, Vay…”

The court looked at where the two had been sitting. Senya was crying. A bit. She would miss her little girl, even after all of this. But at least it was a chance for her, for all of them.


End file.
